I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas..........Just like the ones I'VE NEVER SEEN

So, the buzz around work today is that we are going to get lots of SNOW at Christmas. Considering I'll be in the Mountains of NC I think the chance of that is much GREATER and I'm GIDDY with Excitment. I've never snow on Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This would be so so pretty to wake up to!

However, if I see something like this - I totally changed my mind!!!!

Ok - Back to work it is for now. Only 3 hours and 15min left of work until Christmas Break :)

It's that time of year..........

You know, when you are younger Christmas is just about the only thing you look forward to all year, for me I actually looked forward to my birthday which is during the holiday season and then Christmas..........now that we are all grown up Christmas is just a little bit different. It's more about giving and less about receiving and it's just all around different since you aren't a kid anymore. Luckily this year we get to spend Christmas with our nephew, Charlie. He is 11months old and although he doesn't know really what is going on, it will bring back a lot of those memories of being a kid at Christmas time. We went a little overboard when buying gifts for him for Christmas, but since we are Aunt Ally and Uncle Daniel we get to do things like that :). Here are a few recent pictures of Charlie. We can't wait to get our hands on him and SQUEEZE him.

Charlie and Santa

Jenny, Matthew, and Charlie (Charlis is wondering who the big guy is?)

Charlie had a little accident, but he is just fine. Check out that cast :)

Tomorrow is my last day of work for the year :) So, hurry up Wednesday!!!!

Yes Indeed...

So its cold, snowy, rainy, icy, slushy here in Raleigh, NC today. After getting 9 tubes of blood taken this morning on an empty stomach I got to enjoy

This.............

and This......

Guess I'll be hitting the gym tonight :)

Happy Thursday, Yall!

Merry Merry

It took me forever to decide on a Christmas card this year and even more time to pick out the pictures I wanted on there. Here is a preview! I love it. Hats off to Katie at Invitation Box, they look awesome. If you haven't heard of Invitation Box click the link I provided. They are located Cary for those of you in the Raleigh area. They do; announcements, invitations, Holiday cards, and even gifts. I can't wait to get them and start sending them out.

A little update from The Raleigh Ward's

End of the year is always a crazy time of year. You have end of the year business to attend to at work (especially when your fiscal year is January to December), you have holiday parties, and in our family we have an anniversary and a birthday. It makes for a very fast paced life the last few months of the year. I promise to post lots of updated pictures of the things we've been doing since September. Yes, September!!! I haven't really posted much since my trip to San Diego back in August, but trust me there has been multiple things going on. I'll give you a few teasers in the meantime.

I can't believe there is only 16 shopping days left until Christmas. Is it bad that I haven't gotten a single gift??? YIKES.

I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season and staying warm!!!

My first visit with Mackie, Erin's little girl.

WCU vs. NC State - Guess who won?

A visit in the mountains with Charlie

ADHS 10 Year Class Reunion (Lauren, Lindsey, Me, and Anna)

ADHS Cheer Alums - Go JAGS!

Palm Springs, California - it was a short work trip, but it was certainly nice.

WCU Homecoming - Club Kitchen @ The Cherry/Beck's

ECU vs NC State (Ashley, Me, and Reagan)

WCU vs CR-APPState

Lady GaGa Halloween!

Our Meet The Charlie Party!

My 29th Birthday Celebration

Bill and Laura's Wedding Reception!

I guess I did more than just a few teasers, but now you know whats been going on around here :)

The Top 10 Reasons why living in NC is Awesome

Number 10. No need to throw away those polyester pants.

Number 9. Easy drive to Carolina Panther NFL games...also plenty of seats.

Number 8. Traffic jams consist of trying to pass your neighbor's John Deere.

Number 7. The State Bird is not the middle finger.

Number 6. There's always hope that Richard Petty will be elected Governor some day.

Number 5. Getting out your winter clothes means putting on socks.

Number 4. Ordering tea is simple...it's always sweet.

Number 3. (For the kids) School gets cancelled for the "chance of flurries".

Number 2. Asking someone to "shag" won't get you slapped in the face.

And the Number 1 reason to move to NC.....Grits go with everything!

Marry Me by Train (With lyrics)

I heard this on the way to work this morning so I thought I would share. I love it.

Look who is coming to see us...............

CHARLIE!!!!

We are hosting friends and family this weekend for a meet and greet. Charlie is the guest of honor :) We can't wait to see him and spoil him.

He's saying...."Hurry up, I want to see Aunt Ally and Uncle Daniel"

Shame on me.........

Life seems to always get in the way of actually blogging about it. I promise to have a Raleigh Ward update ASAP. In the meantime here are some of the things I'll be blogging about - Stay Tuned.

1). Trip to Sparta to see Charlie, our nephew

2). Athens Drive Highschool Class of 2000 Reunion

3). Trip to visit Mackie

4). NC State vs. WCU

5). Von's Birthday

6). Quick Trip to Palm Springs California

7). Homecoming at WCU

8). ECU vs. NC State Game

Gosh...........I'm wayyyyyyyyyy behind.

Happy Fall Ya'll

My FAVORITE season is finally here. I enjoy the summer, but after 90 degree weather I enjoy a little bit of a cool down and living here in NC, I must say that we have one of the best Fall Seasons around. Get ready for everything FALL............

Halloween

WCU Homecoming

Catamount Football

The North Carolina State Fair

What a Trooper!

So, for any of you that know me or my family you would know that we are HUGE animal lovers!!! I grew up with both cats and dogs and NEVER remember a time where we didn't have one to greet us when we came home. For example, Our very first Christmas (Me and Daniel's) we were given our dog, CiCi! Then, I couldn't stand not having someone for CiCi to play with so we rescued a cat, sometimes I would like to reconsider the cat decision, but he's too cute and spunky to giveaway or not have. Why am I telling you this?

Well, I called my sister on Monday night to ask how her test when. She was taking her board exam for her Liscense in Social Work. She said that she didn't pass and that she missed it by 5 questions and also that she ran over Macie. I felt so bad for her, there was no way she was going to pass after that, but she tried. Of course she felt so guilty, but Macie loves her some Ashley. Plus, it helps that she took her to PetSmart last night to buy her some new toys! Macie is CiCi's sister (littermate). She had to be taken to an emergency vet in Cary. They checked her out, did x-rays, ultrasounds, bloodwork, etc. Luckily the only thing they found was a broken right paw. She broke it in two spots right at her elbow. They had to operate on her and put in 8 screws and 1 metal plate. We call her the BIONIC Dog now!

She came over to our house last night and was in a lot better shape. Almost back to normal, but groggy from her pain medicine. She even has a pink cast with a heart. Here are a few pictures for you to see. We missed her silly self and glad she's going to be A-OK!

Macie and her Cast

We love you Macie! Get well soon.

San Diego Recap

I must say, that San Diego was incredible and I do miss it. The weather is awesome in southern California. Low 65- High 85 degrees ever day and NO HUMIDITY. San Francisco really had some amazing views and great culture, but San Diego was clean, not too big of a city, and nice weather year around.

I flew out early Sunday morning (8am Flight) after a 30th birthday party for our friend Justin. I was a little bit tired, but not too bad. I landed at 12pm pacific time and had a chance to do a little bit of sightseeing just to make sure I knew where I was going all week. I grabbed lunch and then headed back to the hotel to catch a quick nap before the Partner's Reception at the conference. Needless to say, I didn't do anything that night but go to bed because it was 12am on the east coast.

Downtown San Diego

Monday - was a fairly low key day. I did some work from the hotel and had a chance to do some sightseeing and some shopping. I went to dinner at a GREAT mexican place. Shrimp Taco's anyone? Delicious! Oh, and a couple corona's because nothing goes with mexican like a mexican brew :)

Downtown San Diego at night from my room

Top of the Hyatt

Tuesday/Wednesday were mainly all work days. Tuesday night we were treated to dinner by one of our vendors; Information Management. We enjoyed the SAS Hospitality event before dinner. They had a great Beatles cover band; Silver Beatles. Dinner was at a "fancy" mexican rest. with the very best Mojitos. 2 of those and a couple vodka sodas....Good times.

I picked up my rental car on Wednesday night, a Jeep Wrangler (because if you are in SO CAL, you must have a convertible of some type). Note to self for my next trip to San Diego - the rental car companies aren't as close as they look. It was a rather long walk. I was also able to meet up with one of my highschool friends, Mike Walsh. We went and grabbed a bite to eat and a few drinks and then headed to hear one of his friends bands, Ben Sollee. Very good band, very different as well, but we enjoyed it along with enjoying our Pabst Beers. Check out their website, they are doing a tour by bicycle - http://www.bensollee.com/. It was great catching up with an old friend and seeing what "real" San Diego is all about.

My ride for the week

Mike and me and Dinner

Thursday I went to Los Angeles. I heard nightmares about getting there with all the traffic, but it wasn't bad at all. Took me about 2.5 hours to get there. The last 20min was where the traffic got really bad, but it was only 20min so it wasn't bad. Of course I did the things that only girls like to do.......Rodeo Drive, Robertson Blvd, Pinkberry, Melrose, etc. I did lots of shopping and got lots of great things. I stayed there until about 9:30pm in hopes of missing all the traffic and was successful. I made it back quick and even stopped for an In and Out Burger, YUM!

LA!!!!

Beverly Hills

Robertson BLVD

Hollywood Blvd

Pinkberry - YUM

Friday was filled with all things San Diego. I shopped, watched the Navy Ships, held a bird or two, ate sushi, had dessert and relaxed before my flight early Saturday morning. I can't wait to go back and do some of the things I wasn't able to do this trip.

The Bay
Navy Shipyard

Sunny The Bird

Not sure of his name - but he was mean

Balancing Rocks

Sourthern California Coast